Two Memphis East basketball players have been ruled ineligible for the 2017-18 season after the TSSAA determined Wednesday the school had violated the state's "prior link" rule for transfers.

Though the statement does not name the players, there are two who have moved to East and had a prior athletic connection with East head coach Penny Hardaway: Ryan Boyce and James Wiseman.

Over the summer, both Boyce, who signed with UAB on Monday, and Wiseman, a top-five national recruit in the class of 2019, played for Team Penny, a Memphis-based grassroots organization that Hardaway began sponsoring in 2012.

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Top 2019 recruit James Wiseman explains his decision to transfer from Nashville's Ensworth School to East High School in Memphis.
Mark Giannotto/The Commercial Appeal

The under-17 team that both Boyce and Wiseman played on this year was coached by former Arkansas star and NBA player Todd Day.

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Team Penny guard Ryan Boyce dunks over the Boo Williams defense during second-half action at the 2017 EYBL Peach Jam in North Augusta, S.C.(Photo: Mark Weber / The Commercial Appeal)

The rule states that if a student with an athletic record transfers to a new school where an athletic coaching link existed within the previous 12 months, than that student is ineligible at his new school.

East will appeal the decision during a meeting of the TSSAA's executive council Thursday at 3 p.m. Attempts to reach Hardaway and East principal Dr. Marilyn Hilliard were unsuccessful Wednesday.

Boyce transferred from Houston while Wiseman played last season at Nashville Ensworth. Both were expected to play big roles for the two-time defending Class AAA champs, ranked preseason No. 1 nationally by at least two media outlets in the preseason.

The 6-11 Wiseman is considered by some outlets to be the top-ranked national prospect in the class of 2018 while Boyce, an outstanding athlete with a high motor, was expected to replace the highly-regarded T.J. Moss, who transferred to Findlay Prep in Nevada for his senior season.